What is the best way to go about catching Blacephalon in Ultra Sun?

Question

I'm shiny hunting Blacephalon in Ultra Sun, but I'm a bit worried about being able to do it successfully, due to Mind Blown and the +2 Special Attack Boost Blacephalon gets at the start of the battle. What Pokemon, Moves and Items should I bring to maximize my chances of success?

Blacephalon's Moveset:
-Fire Blast
-Shadow Ball
-Trick
-Mind Blown

Comments

I have an idea for a strategy you could use in order to easily tank Blacephalons hits, but I have one question before I try answering the question with the strategy I have in mind, does Haze remove the Sp. Atk drop, or no?

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Haze does remove the Special Attack Boosts.

Answer 1

Before we begin, I'd just like to state that you should use the highest level Pokemon you have along with the Pokemon I'm about to suggest. Pokemon with Damp are ideal as they are immune to Mind Blown, but anything will work, really. With that out of the way though, lets get on with the strategy!

So starting off, you should get a Hazer that should be able to prevent Mind Blown, while also being able to tank a couple of Blacephalon's attacks. I think an excellent candidate for this would be my pal Quagsire, as it takes virtually no damage from Fire Blast, prevents Mind Blown with Damp, can remove the +2 Sp. Atk increase that Blacephalon has with Haze, recover with Recover without using up too many healing items or instead wall Blacephalon with Amnesia, put it to sleep with Yawn, and even trap it into using Mind Blown or Trick with Encore! Quagsire can also be found at level 60 in the Ultra Space Wilds, so it requires 0 level grinding, as it would be an equal level to Blacephalon.

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Damp
- Haze
- Recover / Amnesia
- Encore
- Yawn

Next up should be a Pokemon that can prevent Mind Blown altogether for the rest of the team, while also helping the capture process easier by making it so that Blacephalon will also be easier to catch. I'm thinking of using Sigilyph, as its fast enough to Skill Swap Magic Guard onto Blacephalon, while also having decent bulk. Its got Thunder Wave to make catching easier, Roost for recovery, and provides some Sp. Def bulk for the team with Light Screen. Sigilyph can also be caught in Ultra Warp Rides too along with Quagsire, so there's no need for leveling up it either. Also note to safely switch in Sigilyph while Blacephalon is asleep, as it will likely be OHKOed by Shadow Ball

Sigilyph @ Light Clay
Ability: Magic Guard
IVs: 0 Atk
- Skill Swap
- Roost
- Thunder Wave
- Light Screen

Now that Blacephalon has no Sp. Atk buff, doesn't take damage from Mind Blown, and is paralyzed, its about time you try catching it! I suggest you switch into either a high level Pokemon or just Quagsire in order to completely wall Blacephalon, and start trying to capture the thing. Use healing items when necessary, and that's basically it. Unless you run out of Beast Balls or something, your Shiny Blacephalon should be safely obtained.

As a side note, you should totally nickname the shiny Ronald McDonald because of phunni.

Comments

Thanks

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No problem. Good luck with the shiny hunt!

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Goodness I had such a quick hunt. In the end, I went with Magic Gaurd Skill Swap, with Focus Sash as the item. It definitely works (even though it didn't end up using Mind Blown :/

Answer 2

Well, out of all the moves that Blacephalon has, you're right. Mind blown is the only one of concern. You can always just buy revives and max potions if you need it so bring a lot of those. If you can bring an assault vest on the Pokemon then that would be great. That shouldn't be too hard since it is fairly easy to get bp via Mantine surfing. Now, to guarantee that Blacephalon doesn't kill itself, it is best to use a Pokemon with damp. This ability prevents the use of kill yourself moves like explosion and of course, mind blown. Out of all the mons that can have this ability, I would strongly suggest Swampert or Politoed because they are bulky and resists fire blast. This is also where the assault vest comes in so that you don't immediately die to some random shadow ball crits. For Swampert, damp is a hidden ability so you'll have to spend a lot of time breeding that and for Politoed, it is a regular ability. Perhaps you can just bring half a dozen Politoeds with damp as its ability to ensure you can switch around in case of shadow ball spdef drops

Comments

1. I don't have a Politoed, HA Swampert, or anyone to trade with.
2. What about the Special Attack boosts Blacephalon gets at the start of the battle?

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You can always catch one or use the gts for Politoed and farm up that item that allows you to switch abilities. Maybe even Kingdra could work since it quad resists fire blast but again, that's an ha. The goal here is simply to use damp to ensure Blacephalon doesn't kill itself. There are options like Tyranitar or Kommo that you can catch that resists both stab moves but they can't stop mind blown which is why I suggest damp. Resisting it isn't enough because mind blown always takes half of Blacephalon's life regardless of how much damage it deals

That's why I mentioned the av and max potions. Both Swampert and Politoed resist fire blast and they prevent mind blown from being used. Shadow ball is the only concern and no pokemon resists ghost and has damp as an ability. The av is to slightly reduce the effect of the special attack boost. Alternatively, you can use a pokemon with haze to get rid of the boost and then switching to your damp pokemon

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I added some more info to the answer

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Flash Fire doesn't prevent Mind Blown recoil, just like attacking into a ghost doesn't prevent an Explosion user from KOing itself. Only Damp, Skill Swap Magic Guard, or Spite to get rid of all the PP before it can use the move a second time, will work.

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Oh in that case Imma delete that part. So ig the asker's only choice is damp or spite

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Just reading this now, I think Skill Swap Magic Gaurd might work.

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Thanks to you as well